Ok, so one of the things I've always wanted to get in to has been macro photography. My humming bird pictures were atrocious but the other day we had the rare treat of having a humming bird moth in our garden.

I had maybe 2 minutes with this little guy and just want to get some of your opinions...

_63 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96879272@N04/9429392831/)

_64 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96879272@N04/9432161892/)

_68 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96879272@N04/9429391597/)

Obviously I didn't have time to grab my tripod, and maybe that's why they aren't all that clear. I'm pretty sure I had my shutter speed at around 1/800-1/1000 and my ISO is almost always around 100... how can I get rid of the noise in my photos?

Wow! I am never posting another picture on this site again, there's no way I can even come close to living up to your pictures.

The first one is my favorite, and if you think it's not clear, maybe I need glasses because it looks darn clear to me.

Gorgeous. In fact, I'd copy the first one in a heartbeat and frame it. Just beautiful.

What are you referring to when you say noise? If your thinking about making the entire picture clear then that's apature. It changes the depth of field. If you want to shoot high speed then sometimes you have to sacrifice with going to a higher ASA to achieve it. If you had it at ASA 100 and your shutter speed was at 800/1000 then your running a short depth of field. Only primary objects stay in focus when you do that. The background gets fuzzy.

Its suppose to be like that by the nature of the picture. Higher ASA numbers can get you faster shutter speeds and an increase in apature so you gain greater depth of field.

Wow who can catch a hummingbird and the purple is my favorite color AND my favorite *flowers
cdad is right, but with the unclear background it makes the forefront more distinct.

Wow who can catch a hummingbird and the purple is my favorite color AND my favorite *flowers
cdad is right, but with the unclear background it makes the forefront more distinct.

It's a moth. Looks almost like a crawdad with wings. Very cool looking.

Oh I looked really quick cause I'm trying to look up mufflers. Yeah very cool. Moving Moths are hard to catch on camera too.

Here is something I found you might like if you have an Android. It's a free photography app.

Amazon.com: DSLR Camera - Photo Guide Free: Appstore for Android (http://www.amazon.com/DSLR-Camera-Photo-Guide-Free/dp/B00D8HNSJW/ref=sr_1_53?ie=UTF8&qid=1376099998&sr=8-53&keywords=dslr+camera)

Ha, yeah I usually describe those little guys as a moth mixed with a crawdad and a hummingbird!

Sorry for not clarifying... when I say "noise" I mean the graininess of the picture... which is more apparent in the second photo. I thought that graininess came more from using a high ISO... which I was not. I was using my 50mm lens for those shots so the bokeh in the background was expected... and actually something I'd prefer in pictures like that.

Here is something I found you might like if you have an android. Its a free photography app.

Amazon.com: DSLR Camera - Photo Guide Free: Appstore for Android (http://www.amazon.com/DSLR-Camera-Photo-Guide-Free/dp/B00D8HNSJW/ref=sr_1_53?ie=UTF8&qid=1376099998&sr=8-53&keywords=dslr+camera)

I do have a Kindle Fire... can't believe I haven't come across that app before, looks great though, definitely going to try it out. Thanks again.

Wow! I am never posting another picture on this site again, there's no way I can even come close to living up to your pictures.

The first one is my favorite, and if you think it's not clear, maybe I need glasses because it looks darn clear to me.

Gorgeous. In fact, I'd copy the first one in a heartbeat and frame it. Just beautiful.

Awwww shucks! I don't think they are that good at all, but thank you nonetheless!

Awwww shucks! I don't think they are that good at all, but thank you nonetheless!

They are. The colors, the movement, everything is gorgeous. Would you mind if I tried to recreate it in an oil painting? It is your photo, so I'd like to ask before I do it. I usually do landscapes, but I have done wolves, so I'm pretty sure I could do a moth if I take my time. :)

Awwww shucks! I don't think they are that good at all, but thank you nonetheless!

Ok, HauntingHumility, As you can see by the comments your on your way. Take them and run with it :)

They are. The colors, the movement, everything is gorgeous. Would you mind if I tried to recreate it in an oil painting? It is your photo, so I'd like to ask before I do it. I usually do landscapes, but I have done wolves, so I'm pretty sure I could do a moth if I take my time. :)

ALTY-oil paint your heart out ;)

What a beautiful little creature, I especially like how the focus in the second picture is the moth and the flower with all else just kind of fading away. Really nice pictures, thanks for sharing.

Thank you!

Don't be afraid to experiment with your pictures to change the results. Sometimes it can make an interesting picture.

I haven't gone so far as to add water reflection yet... I'm still getting to know my software... which is a fight in itself.

Dont be afraid to experiment with your pictures to change the results. Sometimes it can make an interesting picture.

That's really neat. I love this picture too. I may have to add the water to the painting. :)

Better late than never right? Lol.

In my opinion, all three photos are great. You are right about the grain or noise being a result of the ISO/ASA. But at 100 it really shouldn't be so apparent. And being digital grain it really shouldn't look the way it does, I think... It should be less "textured" and show more red, green, and blue (Then again NR software would probably try to match the surrounding pixels)... So I'm thinking it is not an ISO problem... Possibly your lens glass needs some cleaning, (But I don't think so... ) Also could be your sensor needs some cleaning... (Again I am not too confident on that piece either... )

Are these 3 compositions the full photos? Did you crop anything out?

I ask about cropping because when you crop a photo and display it at a large size, the grain will be more pronounced. You are enlarging all the pixels to get to a specific size, that includes grain pixels...

Something to think about. See if you can turn noise reduction software on you camera off... Then use post processing software (photoshop, lightroom, corel, etc... ) to do your noise reduction. Newer versions of photoshop have great "content aware" editing features that probably integrate with PS's NR software...

While on the subject... If you did do some post processing and if that included any sharpening, that will produce significant grain... Unfortunately sharpening software still sucks for the most part...


I just reread your OP, you said you usually keep the ISO at 100. I do the same usually, but there was this one time when I accidentally set it at 3600! In broad daylight! For a photo class assignment!! At the time, I did notice that I was having to use ultra high shutter speeds and small apertures and in a few cases, a Neutral Density filter... I didn't notice the too high ISO until post processing back at school... Stupid me, right? Lol.

What I'm getting at is this; Are you sure your ISO was set correctly? Could you possibly have had it set too high or on Auto?

I know how to write up long posts, don't I? Sorry for that. But I hope I helped a bit. :-) (Oh, and this one was on my desktop, not my phone! ;-D )

I just double checked all my info in the RAW and my ISO was at 100 for all the photos. I too thought maybe I had slipped it to auto on accident. These photos were cropped, but not to the degree that they look like they have been. It's a new lens and I haven't had this grainy issue with any others but these.

I typically don't sharpen images up too often and that goes for these as well. I understand they are going to be blurry... I didn't have time to get my tripod out for these, but I was disappointed with the grain. Hmmm... thanks for the input!

I just double checked all my info in the RAW and my ISO was at 100 for all the photos. I too thought maybe I had slipped it to auto on accident. These photos were cropped, but not to the degree that they look like they have been. It's a new lens and I haven't had this grainy issue with any others but these.

I typically don't sharpen images up too often and that goes for these as well. I understand they are gonna be blurry....I didn't have time to get my tripod out for these, but I was disappointed with the grain. Hmmm....thanks for the input!

The reason the photos have a fuzzy background is because it was shooting at F/1.8. exp 1/640 sec.

That is extremely short depth of field. There is nothing wrong with your camera or the picture.

I finally figured out what was causing the unwanted noise in the picture. I double checked my edited RAW and the sharpness was ALL the way up. Big no no for a cropped picture!

Maybe Im getting mixed up here but what exactly are you calling "noise" ?

The graininess of the picture. Nothing to do with the bokeh in the background. The bokeh is one of my favorite things about the 50mm!

Maybe my monitor is making corrections. But it doesn't appear grainy here. Not like low level lighting causes.

Here is something interesting that a member here might appreciate ;)

Notice anything familiar looking in the pictures?

20 Unique Animals That You Won't Believe Actually Exist (http://www.viralnova.com/unique-animals/)

Lol, it's the one insect I find beautiful.

Lol, it's the one insect I find beautiful.

See, I told you that you can take quality pictures, It is all in the mindset and the eye of the beholder. I thought of this thread when I saw the list :)